Wrist and pocket watches have been developed that are readable by touch alone for the visually impaired or in the dark via a combination of protuberances, studs, projections, annular slots, discs and plates (U.S. Pat. Nos. 365,032, 360,641, 1,222,369 and 2,168,314). Other watches deliver time information by employing a silent vibration device (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,559,761 and 6,052,339), square-areas, cursors, and symbolic codes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,487) and Braille (U.S. Pat. No. 2,091,146).
Other developments include timepieces that provide a readily interpretable tactile display of the time, preferably without requiring the user to learn a complex code and can easily be read by both a visually impaired or sighted person. U.S. Pat. No. 7,079,454 discloses a display comprises a display area and at least one moveable portion within the display. The moveable portion is moveable with respect to the display to form at least one displayed character that is recognizable by touch by a user and has a tactilely detectable shape that is independent of a system of dots. Others in the industry are exploring ways to use magnetized ball bearings to represent the hour and minute hands of a watch.
More and more, however, individuals are routinely obtaining the time not via a physical wristwatch or timepiece but rather a digital consumer device, particularly mobile devices. Meanwhile, the field of haptics technology or tactile feedback technology has advanced significantly in recent years enabling an individual to touch a smooth surface or touch screen interface and experience the sensation of touching a physical object. In the past, a tool or stylus was required to reproduce the simulation, but now haptic textures can be read via an individual's finger or fingertips. Devices can now record the force, speed, acceleration, vibrations, and motions of a user in connection with a real object and those attributes can then be used to simulate or recreate the tactile sensation of touching that object through electromechanical or electromagnetic actuators, electrovibrations or reverse -electrovibrations, and other haptic technology. For example, Disney's TeslaTouch uses electrovibrations such that “when a finger is placed on the surface of the touch panel, a periodic motion of the electrical charges is induced in the tip of the finger. This results in a periodic attraction force between the finger and the panel modifying the friction between the sliding finger and the panel and thus producing a sensation of tactile texture.”
A method is needed that can provided a sighted or visually impaired person the ability to tactilely read the time or the approximate time on a smooth surface or touch screen readily.